That Isn't Ladylike
by A Satch in Time
Summary: In the Kanto region during the 1970's, the thought of a female even becoming a pokemon trainer was absurd. Various laws, officers, a psychotic vigilantes prevented women and girls from being able to compete with a team. Death often greeted those who attempted to rebel against this, but Samantha Brown cast these worries aside as she decided to follow her dream.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hello! Thanks for actually reading this fic. It's my first one, so be nice! I'm hoping to make this a long-ish one, and the rating is a bit high just because I'm not entirely sure what's going to happen with it in the future. Please review, it helps!

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

_Seventeen-year-old girl found dead in front of Viridian City pokemon center. She was discovered in possession of her own pokemon team, a crime punishable by 5 years in jail and the releasing of the previously owned pokemon. This murder was most likely the actions of a vigilante attempting to enforce the Trainer's Bill of Rights, article one section 3; no female is allowed to possess their own pokemon for the purpose of battling. It was determined that the teenage girl was visiting from the Unova region, a region that doesn't hold this prejudice, and was unaware of the dangers in the area. The Kanto government would like to remind everyone..._

I put the newspaper back down on the kitchen table and looked over to my mom, who was busy putting up groceries from her latest visit to the Viridian market.

"So the market was pretty empty today. It made shopping easier," my mom said with an unsteady voice. She never looked at me, her long brown hair hiding her face. "Nobody ever wants to go shopping after an incident like that." She continued putting up various boxes of noodles and poffins. I shrugged and continued eating my cereal, looking over at the pidgey softly cooing in its nest by our window.

Mom suddenly whipped around and grabbed me by the shoulders, surprising me as I attempted to shift away from her. Hazel eyes bore upon me; wide, furious, plagued with rage and worry. She trembled, perhaps with rage, anger, or even fear. We stayed like this for a minute until she managed to gather herself back together. "Samantha, why in the name of Arceus would you want to go out and be a Pokemon trainer?!"

* * *

My name is Samantha Brown. I'm a 16 year old girl, and I want to be a pokemon trainer. In the Kanto region, this is the equivalent of saying, "Please shoot me in the head." Ever since I was a young girl, I've wanted to follow in my father's footsteps and challenge the Elite Four. He was a well-known trainer who always walked around-pokeball in hand and glint of mischief on his face-ready for a challenge. Everyone who knew him personally remembers the spark of excitement you could see in his eyes in the heat of battle.

Mom says I got that same look from him.

My mom clung to my shirt when we got a call from the league one night. A gruff sounding old man calmly told us that there had been a terrible accident during my father's attempt at the Elite Four. Of course, we already knew. They had broadcast the entire thing live on the television. He was facing Jacques (an older, red headed elite trainer in the 1970's) and had forced him to succumb to his final pokemon; Dragonite. My father had that spark of excitement as usual, but it was burning brighter than ever. He threw his arm forward, commanding his loyal Luxray (from his travels to Sinnoh) to land the final blow. As the Luxray began charging towards the Dragonite, Jacques quickly yelled at his pokemon to counter it with a Hyper Beam. The Dragonite, completely exhausted, began charging the beam as Luxray got closer and closer. Everyone was on the edge of their seats, until something very peculiar happened. The Dragonite slightly cocked its head to the side while wincing. It was obvious that an injury had prevented it from aiming properly, and it sent a haywire hyper beam across the arena, hitting the ceiling above my father. The battle stopped suddenly, Jacques, the pokemon, and my father looking shocked. Everyone began to run, including the camera man, dropping his camera and leaving it facing my father. The last moment Mom and I saw him was with a ridiculous grin on his face, throwing the rest of his pokemon team-still safely in their pokeballs- out of harm's way, before the ceiling finally caved in. He died later that night, the internal bleeding and a traumatic head injury being too much for doctors to deal with.

At the funeral, many trainers whom we didn't even know showed up to pay their respects-all of them being male, of course. Jacques sobbed hysterically and had to be dragged out of the church by a few rangers, continuously yelling about how it was all his fault. We would later read in the newspaper that he hung himself, leaving a note reading, "I'm so sorry."

As per tradition, should a trainer die in battle, his pokemon would be given to his family for safe keeping. The Pokemon Champion at the time, Samuel Oak, a young man no older than twenty-five who was already aging far too quickly, quietly mumbled the traditional ode to trainers, and held out a small box with six pokeballs lined up in it. My father's trusted team rested there, the very reason he was able to progress so far in his career. All his adventures and journeys rested in there, marking the end of a legend. Mom tried to pull herself together long enough to take the box, only to let out an ungodly cry as she fell to her knees. Mr. Oak closed his eyes for a moment and then slowly shifted towards me. I was only eight years old at the time, so he kneeled in front of me, putting a smile on his stress-marked face.

"Samantha, I need you to take good care of these pokemon, okay? They have so many stories to tell, and I know your father would want you to have them. Can you do that for him?" He placed the box in my outstretched hands and wiped the tears running down my face. "Shh, it's going to be okay." He laughed lightly as he leaned forward and whispered in my ear. "You look just like him, you know? Even now, you have that look in your eyes like he did. I expect great things from you, Samantha." With that, he stood up, patted my head, and proceeded with the funeral.

Ever since my father died, Mom had kept me hidden from the world, as if she was afraid the last thing in her life would be ripped away from her. She pulled me out of school (which I was about to get kicked out of anyway-after fifth grade it became "trainer's schooling," which of course was pointless for girls to attend) and kept me inside the house to take care of my father's pokemon. I didn't mind all that much, I didn't have any friends at school and I would rather play with the pokemon. Little did Mom know, she only drove me to a future goal of her nightmares.

I want to be a trainer. Not only do I want to finish what my father started, but I want to be someone who can say they did it. I want to say that against all odds, I became the champion.

I want to win.


	2. Chapter 2

YOOOOOOOO

Hey guys! Sorry, this update took an ungodly amount of time. Whoops, I'll work on that. And sorry if there are ridiculous errors in here, didn't really get a chance to edit. I figured I was already taking long enough, so yeah...

BUT OMG FIRST FIC AND YOU GUYS ARE FABULOUS LET ME LOVE YOU.

Disclaimer: I don't own the pokemans, or any characters of the pokemans. But I'm sure you already knew that.

* * *

It had been a week since I had announced to Mom that I was going to become a pokemon trainer. She hadn't said a word to me since, let alone even look at me. It was as if she had already thought me dead.

I had just woken up and stumbled into the dining room, still in my pajamas. I wished Mom a good morning, a greeting which I knew wouldn't be returned, as I pulled out a large bag of various poffins and pokepuffs. Mom stood by the sink, scrubbing the already sparkling clean plates. I sighed, and walked over to the front door. I stopped in front of it and looked at the mirror attached to it, hanging in perfect alignment ("A house's cleanliness reflects one's character!" Mom always said).

My eyes were covered in sleep and had bags under them, and my hair looked like it had been attacked by a beedrill. Mom would usually never let me walk out looking like this. Dad, however… I'm not sure. I like to imagine that he would just laugh and ruffle my already messy hair.

Ugh, this hair. It has got to go.

I opened the door only to be blinded by the morning sun. Throwing the bag of food over my shoulder, I made my way to the small pokemon ranch just down the road. We lived on the outskirts of Viridian City, right by the opening of route route one. It was along this route where you could find the ranch, a delightful little place filled with all sorts of amazing pokemon. My father's pokemon currently reside there since we couldn't keep them at the house (that was out of the question since they would make it a mess). However, I visited them everyday. That's actually how I spent most of my days, playing with my father's remaining pokemon. Four of them had already died of old age, including his starter pokemon, Venusaur. Only his Luxray and Arcanine remained. I only hoped they wouldn't leave me anytime soon.

When I reached the ranch, I was happily greeted by the smaller pokemon, mostly rattata. I smiled, they were always so full of energy. I looked past them and saw the owner of the ranch, a middle-aged man named Mr. Fuji. He was very kind and always took care of any pokemon who came up to him. He waved at me, and I eagerly went over to talk with him.

"Hey, lass! Just get out of bed?" he asked chuckling as he ruffled my hair.

"Yeah, I overslept just a bit," I replied, plastering a smile on my face.

Mr. Fuji constantly came to check on Mom and I when my father died, always smiling with some large container of food we never finished. You could say he took me under his wing when my mom pulled me out of school. He let me come to the ranch and help take care of the pokemon, as well as taught me all sorts of secrets about them. He was the only one I confided my objective to. When I told him, he just looked me in the eye with a small smile on his face, and gave me a hearty slap on the back, telling me to let him know when I was ready to get going ("I'm surprised you haven't already run off!" he laughed later that day).

He looked at me with a hint of concern scrawled across his face, then gently placed the meowth he was holding in the hands of his Chansey. "What's the matter? Your mom usually wakes you up to come to the ranch, and you haven't been here for a bit. Did something happen?"

Well, there was no point in trying to keep it from him. I was going to be leaving tomorrow to get my first pokemon, and I'd need his help.

"Mr. Fuji, I want to thank you for helping me and allowing me to work on this ranch for so many years," I said as he began to shake his head. It seemed as though he was starting to put everything together, but refused to believe his final outcome. "But I'm going to be leaving. I'm going to become a pokemon trainer."

He remained silent for a period of time, and all you could hear was the sound of pokemon living on the ranch. Then, after a heavy sigh emitted from his mouth, he placed a hand on my shoulder with a slight smile. "I didn't think you were actually going to do it when you said so all those years ago."

"Oh, well… Yeah, I'm going to do it, and I was wondering if you could help me get ready to take off tomorrow."

More silence. Then, a hearty laugh and a clap on the back.

"Atta girl!" He smiled, pulling me into a hug. "Goodness, already old enough to go on a journey of your own! But first, we need to go over everything I've taught you while you've been hanging around here."

Over the next few hours, he tossed out random trivia facts to test my knowledge of battles, wild pokemon, and survival. We had a couple of good laughs over silly mistakes, but for the most part he reminded me how dangerous a pokemon journey was-even without violent vigilantes looking to kill you.

"If you get stuck on a route and know you won't be able to make it to the next town before nightfall, what do you do?" He asked, rolling a bale of hay inside a pen.

I laughed. "Isn't it more along the lines of what you shouldn't do? Don't continue traveling, don't attempt to battle, and don't light a fire. Use repellent and set up a safe place to rest. Leave a pokemon out to protect the area and alert you."

"Good, good, it sounds like you've got everything down. I'm proud of you." A small smile made its way across Mr. Fuji's face. His face softened, and he placed a hand on my shoulder. "One last question. Are you ready to go on this journey?"

I paused. It was my dream to do this, to finally become a trainer and challenge the league. However, it would be more dangerous, perhaps suicidal, since so many people would be against me. Even my own mother was against me right now. Doing this would break her heart.

But there was no point in putting this off any longer. I was ready.

"Yes, sir. I'm ready."

* * *

I stood at the exit of the ranch, holding dozens of bags filled with items like medicines, pokeballs, ropes, sheets, and three sleeping bags (apparently a lot of pokemon have a tendency to eat sleeping bags). Various papers filled my hands, including a trainer identification form which would be used to get my card. Adventure was right around the corner. The name section was left blank.

"Aye, lass. You're all ready to go. However, you need to set up a very specific plan and alter your identity. Nobody can know you're a girl. Go home, talk to your mom, and once you've got everything sorted out, come back and I'll take you to Pallet Town," Mr. Fuji said as he followed me down the path leading up to the ranch. "You make sure to have everything sorted and loose ends tied, just in case… In case…" He suddenly lost his ability to speak, and turned away. I could see his shoulders shake slightly, but decided to not make mention of it.

"I'll make sure to, Mr. Fuji," I finally said in the most cheerful tone I could manage. And with that, I left for home, still only in my pajamas.

The walk was nice. Groups of Pidgey flew by, cooing as they glided along with the wind. Trees rustled, grass bowed with the breeze, and pokemon happily ran about. Despite the fact so many people were afraid of wild pokemon, they were actually quite nice and sweet as long as you didn't bother them (or give them a reason to bother you). It was relaxing. And I would be able to experience this everyday while traveling as a trainer.

I smiled. I couldn't wait to begin my adventure.

By the time I made it back home, the moon covered the town in a white, soothing light. My house was, however, surprisingly dark. I walked up and threw my bags on the porch, tired from having carried so many supplies. Plus, I didn't want my mom to flip out with more junk in the house. She wouldn't notice these bags until tomorrow morning, most likely.

I opened the door only to find the house dark. That was odd, Mom usually left the lights on at night, no matter what. I switched the lights on, only to find that I wanted to turn them off. In fact, I wished everything could have just stayed dark. Dark was nice. But no.

My mom was lying on the couch, unconscious, and a man with a mask stood over her holding a gun. He turned and looked at me, slowly moving the gun towards me as well.

"You want to become a pokemon trainer, eh?" he questioned, shuffling his way towards me. "Damn girls like you sicken me. Fucking scum." He finally stood in front of me, gun now jammed into my cheek.

His voice. It sounded familiar.

Wait. No way. It couldn't be him.

My mailman was about to kill me.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Aaaaaaaaaaand that took WAY too long to update. I am sosososososs sorry! Life sort of happened, but hey! Got a job, mom's recovering from surgery, and this chapter is up! Hope you guys enjoy it! Sorry if there are any stupid mistakes in here, I haven't really looked over it...

Disclaimer: I want to be the very best like no one ever was, but it's a little hard to do when I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

I had to resist the urge to laugh. My mom was lying unconscious on our couch, and my mailman had a gun jammed into my face. Just yesterday, he was laughing as he handed my mom her weekly order of medicines. He seemed nice, and always had a smile on his face.

And now he wanted to kill me for becoming a pokemon trainer.

"Did ya actually think some fuckin' slut like ya could go out into a man's world?" He thrust his gun harder against my face, leaning closer to me. Even through the thick, white mask he wore, I could smell an atrocious amount of booze on him. He must have needed it to get the guts to do this.

"...No," I murmured. My heart was pounding, and I felt my body suddenly go into overdrive. _Just go along with it, Sammy _crossed my mind along with _oh, Arceus, what if she's dead. _And I suddenly saw him tense up in front of me.

A piercing scream escaped my mouth as he quickly spun me around, grabbed my hair and pulled me back against his chest. I was terrified.

"What did ya fuckin' say? Say it a lil' louder, if ya could," He whispered harshly in my ear, then leaned closer to me. I looked slightly towards him. His mask still covered his face, only showing the animalistic fire in his eyes. "That's right, you fuckin' coward, just like ya fuckin' crazy ass, big-shot dad-"

I threw my head back as hard as I could, earning a loud, "fuck!" from my captor. He stumbled backwards, reaching towards his mask. I took that moment to retreat as fast as I could to the kitchen.

Nobody talks about my father like that.

I couldn't force myself to think straight at the moment, so I instead madly threw open various drawers and cabinets in search of a knife. I briefly laughed to myself, if only I had decided to help my mom cook every once in a while, knowing where the hell everything was wouldn't be a problem. A string of slurs and swears could be heard from the living room, as well as stumbling footsteps. _Shit. _I began hyperventilating, still unable to recall any useful information.

A small series of taps on the ground caught my attention. It sounded like something had fallen, something that didn't belong in the kitchen. I turned to find the source of the sound, only to find something better than a knife.

A pokeball rocked back and forth, slightly chipped and faded. And my captor had just turned the corner around the kitchen counter, face half exposed from his broken mask (I guess I really was hard-headed). His face looked fierce, insane, and caused my stomach to turn. He was going to kill me, and that pokeball seemed like my best option.

I didn't even think about what I was doing, I'm not even sure how I was able to urge myself to move. It just sort of happened. I dove for the pokeball, thankfully dodging the man's attempted tackle. Landing brutally on the floor, I quickly got ahold of the sphere and twisted around, holding it out towards the man._ Please, don't be a bloody magikarp, _I silently prayed, and pushed the button to release whatever was in there. A blinding light flashed in the room, only to reveal the silhouette of a strange, humanoid figure that was fairly short, had some sort of cape, and didn't have hands, but rather… flowers?

No way! The random pokemon I found was a Roserade?! It was only recently discovered in Sinnoh!

"Roserade!" The pokemon cried as it stood in a battle stance. And it continued to stand. And stand. Was it awaiting a command?

"Ya think ya lil' pokemon's gonna save ya?" The man yelled, now recovering from his failed tackle. He turned to face me and began to charge.

I had about five seconds before he got to me. One. Crap, what types of moves would Roserade know? Two. Grass and poison, that's a lot of possible moves! Three. What if I yell out one it doesn't know?! Four. Guess I'll wing it.

Five.

"Roserade, use Magical Leaf!" Please, please, _please do something._

"Rose!" The pokemon then began to emit a low light from its eyes, then lifted its hands (er... bouquets?) slowly overhead. The man was sprinting full speed ahead, and was about to tackle the poor creature until the Roserade viciously brought down its hands, releasing a magnificent whirlwind of beautifully colored leaves. The leaves, although gorgeous, mercilessly impaled the man in the chest. The man let out a piercing cry, falling to his knees in front of the pokemon.

He didn't move.

The Roserade slowly looked over its shoulder at me, a fierce glow still emanating in its eyes. However, this glow began to fade along with its merciless glare, and it slowly made its way to me. It was only then how pathetic I must have looked. I was cowered in a corner beside the cabinets, holding my shaking hands in front of myself. The roserade kneeled beside me and gently placed its hands in my lap.

"Roserade?" It cooed, carefully moving its other hand to the back of my head. Now that everything had calmed down, I suddenly realized that there was a bit of a stabbing pain on the back of my scalp. I moved my hand to this location as well, only to realize that there was a warm liquid there. Blood, what a joy.

I gave the mysterious Roserade a smile to let it know I was okay, then proceeded to stand up and examine the man. I cautiously approached him, his body lying face up in the pooling blood. He didn't appear to be breathing, and bloodied holes could be seen through his chest where the leaves had struck him. Certainly dead.

"Um… Thank you, Roserade," I mumbled, unsure of what to do. This pokemon was simply staring at me, and then began to bounce happily. It was a cheerful little thing, but who did it belong to? And why would mom try to hide it-

Arceus, my mom was still knocked out on the couch.

"Mom?! Mom, are you okay?!" I practically sobbed. I refused to lose my only other family member. I sprinted to the living room, vision blurring a bit along the way. I reached the room only to find her gone.

The couch was deserted, and she was nowhere to be found. My heart sank.

Oh, Arceus.

Lights, I needed to turn on the lights again.

_Click._

"Samantha! Thank goodness you're okay!" A voice called from the other side of the house. I turned, thankfully finding my mom stumbling back to the front room, holding a hand to the side of her head. She looked dazed but for the most part unharmed.

A huge wave of relief came over me as I let out a breath a hadn't realized I had been holding. There was a wetness on my face… Crying? Was I really crying? There wasn't much of a reason too, Mom and I were still alive-

Wait. Mom really could've died. I nearly got Mom and myself killed, and I hadn't even become a trainer! I hadn't realized that I would be putting her in danger… I ran up to her and hugged her, crying into her shoulder. I wanted to tell her that I was sorry for wanting to do something so stupid, for putting her in danger like that, to tell her I wouldn't ever make her worry like that again, to tell her-

"Samantha… How did you manage to fight off that man?" Mom asked me, still looking a bit dazed by the fact that I was standing in front of her in one piece. She pulled me off of her and grabbed me by my shoulders, slowly scanning me up and down. "You don't even…"

"Roserade!" The pokemon had approached Mom and excitedly jumped up and down beside her. It eagerly spun around her, looking even more joyful.

And Mom turned pale. It was as if she had seen a ghost.

Why was Mom so thrown off by this pokemon? We were nearly killed, and this little guy saved our lives! I mean, I know its origins were relatively unknown, but it wasn't like my mom had never seen a pokemon before.

"Mom? Are you doing okay-"

"Jasmine…!" She whispered, still staring in shock at this creature. Roserade seemed delighted by the name. "What are you... How did you even…" Mom continued to stumble over her words, now completely turning away from me and grabbing onto the Roserade.

Jasmine? Why would she call a Roserade "Jasmine"? Unless it was a nickname…

A NICKNAME?!

"Mom!? Do you know this pokemon?!" I asked, bewildered by the thought that she would've hidden one of my father's pokemon from me. How could she have had the guts to do that?! To hide one of _his _pokemon?!

"... Yes, I do." She managed to croak out, her eyes never leaving this pokemon.

"Roserade!" The pokemon happily cooed, still hopping around like it hadn't just killed a man (yikes, still need to clean that up). Just how long had it been in its pokeball?

I looked at my mom, waiting for more of an explanation. She slowly tore her gaze away from the energetic pokemon and look at me, a look of exhaustion in her eyes.

"Jasmine is my pokemon."

Oh. _Oh._


	4. Chapter 4

***Posts this chapter and scurries away***

**Disclaimer: Just like I can't update things in a timely manner, I don't own Pokémon or any of its characters or stories or pokemans or whatever yada yada please don't hate me**

"Mom… Are you serious?"

She continued looking at me, eyes unwavering. Then, just a flash of memory seemed to come to mind for her. For just a second, her eyes had a dull glow, and the signs of an ever so slight smirk made their way across her face. As quickly as they came, these features were gone, replaced by an overwhelming exhaustion.

"Let's discuss this in the morning, Samantha, we have other things to worry about right now. We need to work out our story and call the police to let them know what happened. I'm assuming he's…?" Mom's voice trailed off as she slowly turned her head towards the kitchen, hair now falling over her face.

"Dead. Rosera- er, Jasmine seemed to take care of that."

As if on cue, the Roserade began to cheer, spinning cheerfully.

* * *

Before the police had arrived, Mom and I worked out the details of our story. We agreed that the mailman burst in, drunk and with a gun. When we began screaming for help, a mysterious trainer happened to run in and save the day, using an unknown pokemon and leaving before we could find out who he was. It was obvious that when the police arrived, they found our story hard to believe, but didn't further question us(most likely out of pity; Mom looked like she had just gotten out of a fight with a rogue Glameow, and I still had some of my ex-mailman's blood on my clothes and hands).

Mr. Fuji had arrived with the police, eyes wide and face prominently wrinkled with worry. He grimaced when hearing the story we gave the police, but remained silent as he stood by the doorway.

The police requested we leave for the night and stay elsewhere so they could investigate further and clean up the scene for us. Mr. Fuji eagerly offered to let us stay with him at the pokemon ranch, to which my mother and I agreed. Yet before leaving, I asked if I could take a shower to get all the blood off me. The head officer offered me a solemn smile and nodded his head, then quickly turned back to work.

I went to my bathroom upstairs, started the shower and slowly stripped off all my clothes. I looked in the mirror at myself, generally numb as to what had just happened. My hair was even more disheveled than it was this morning, and the blood had managed to soak through my clothes and now lightly dampened my chest and stomach. I reached a hand to the back of my head; it was still tender, but it seemed like the bleeding had stopped, and the injury was covered by crusted hair.

I noticed my breath getting a little quicker. Quick snippets of thoughts were flying through my mind.

_You could have died._

Stop.

_Your mother nearly died._

Stop it.

_That man is dead because of you._

Stop it!

_His blood is on your hands._

I can't breathe.

_Is this all because of your "dream?" Did you really think this would happen?_

I fell to the ground, putting my hands to my ears, begging the voices to stop.

"_You look just like him, you know?"_

Help me.

"_Even now, you have that look in your eyes like he did."_

I'm sorry.

"_I expect great things from you, Samantha."_

There was a loud series of knocks on the door, and suddenly the voices became silent.

"Samantha, are you okay? Did you fall in there? There was a loud noise." Mom asked as she stood outside my door.

"I'm fine," I managed to croak out. I stood up, hands shaking and legs trembling. My breath was hitching and my eyes were wide, but I the voices were gone. I stepped into the shower, and stayed there until I had rinsed myself from the night's events.

* * *

After having been escorted to the ranch and telling Mr. Fuji what had really happened, I found myself laying in a cot that Mom had prepared in the front room. Staring at the ceiling, my mind raced, reliving the event over and over. Finally deciding that it was pointless to lay in the cot (it was too small anyway) and I began to walk out to where my father's Luxray and Arcanine were resting.

The stars twinkled in the night, and the sound of Hoothoot cooing created a calming atmosphere. I inhaled heavily, then exhaled loudly, embracing the night. It smelled of stale pokeblocks and grass.

It was familiar, and familiar was nice.

Luxray and Arcanine were snoring, leaning against each other close to the fence as they slept. I smiled, happy to see them content. I walked up to them and made my way in between them, snuggling up against my two companions. Arcanine continued sleeping, but Luxray began to stir and opened its eyes, noticing me. He purred, and turned to nuzzle his head against me, then quickly fell back to sleep. Their calm breathing and occasional grumbles filled the air, and I was content.

I felt safe here. I knew my father's pokemon would protect me, and I knew that he would be watching over me now that I was with them.

I realized that going on such a journey as becoming a female pokemon trainer would be incredibly dangerous and difficult, but I hadn't truly realized how extensive the consequences could be. Honestly, I was okay with dying for the sake of following my dream. However, I was not okay with my mother being attacked because of it. I had planned on keeping my identity a secret, but obviously some people still managed to figure things out.

Did tonight's events deter me from my dream? Not in the slightest. I would, however, need to figure out how to move past this and prevent myself from suffering from another attack like the one I had in my bathroom. Was it anxiety? Stress? An early form of PTSD? I wasn't sure, but I would have to find a way to assure myself that I can and will protect myself in the future, and that this would be inevitable in my travels.

I decided then that I would travel to the professor's lab tomorrow in Pallet Town. I would need an alias to go by, and a way to appear to be a 16 year old boy (_which shouldn't be too hard,_ I thought to myself, _since I have approximately zero curves and the only prominent feature is my long hair_). I told myself that I would discuss it with my mom and Mr. Fuji in the morning, as well as the reasoning as to why my mother had her own pokemon.

I left myself be carried to sleep by the steady breathing of my father's pokemon, and the soft tune that a Kricketune was playing in the distance.

* * *

"Samantha, wake up, lass. I have breakfast on the table inside so that we can all discuss some important things," Mr. Fuji said as he lightly shook my arm. I stirred from my sleep and found him hunched over me, smiling. I returned the smile and nodded as I began to make my way to a standing position. Luxray and Arcanine had obviously been awake for a little while, but were kind enough to let me keep sleeping with them. I gave them a small bow of appreciation once I stood up, and followed Mr. Fuji back to his house.

My mother was sitting at the table, a smile surprisingly stretched across her face. It seemed genuine, too. I pulled up a chair beside her and sat down, looking at the plate Mr. Fuji had prepared: freshly cut pecha berries, fried Pidgeot eggs, and toast. It smelled amazing.

"Well, dig in!" Mr. Fuji said as he sat down. I nodded and began eating with a surprising vigor, not realizing how hungry I was. My mother did the same.

It was quiet for a period of time as we ate, until I broke the silence.

"Mom, why did you have that Roserade?"

My mother stopped eating, brought a napkin to her mouth (just as neat and tidy as ever), then looked at me with a soft smile.

"Your father took me with him to the Sinnoh region when he traveled there. I got a trainer's license over there, and I was allowed to catch and train my own pokemon alongside him. I wasn't the greatest, but it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life.

"I only caught one pokemon; a small, innocent budew who happened to be strolling by and took a liking to me. After it continued to follow us around for the rest of the day, Matthew insisted that I caught her. I nicknamed her Jasmine and she's been with me since. She evolved while we were still in the Sinnoh region when she had accidentally stepped on a strange stone-oh, I forgot what Matthew said it was called-"

"A shiny stone?"

"Yes, a shiny stone! Well, once your father's travel visa expired, him and I returned to the Kanto region. I had left Jasmine with professor Rowan since it was an incredibly new species to him and I couldn't have her with me in Kanto, yet when your father and I boarded the ship, he got this real mischievous look on his face. I asked him what that was about, and he pulled out the pokeball which held Jasmine. He had snatched it back just before we left, and he gave it to me saying I should keep her, and to tell people that I was just watching out for her while he was gone trying to beat the Kanto circuit."

I sat in silence for a moment. I hadn't heard my mother reminisce about her past with my father-let alone hear her say his name-in quite a few years. She looked happy, as if she was floating on a cloud of nostalgia.

"That's why I'm going to support you and your dream of becoming a pokemon trainer," She declared, rousing herself from her daze.

My heart skipped a beat. Then, a broad smile made its way onto my face, and I practically leapt across the table, tackling my mother to the ground. I showered her in a chorus of "Thank you!"s and she responded with a hearty laugh. Mr. Fuji laughed as well, saying something along the lines of "oh, you sweet lass," as I hugged my mother. I stood up, and helped my mother off the ground, and gave her another hug, squeezing her (maybe a bit too hard, but she wasn't saying anything).

She smiled at me. "Being a pokemon trainer, even though I wasn't the best or the most talented, was one of the most rewarding and amazing experiences of my life, and I believe you have a right to experience that. And I've come to realize that you are so much like your father, and that rather than try to stop you from the inevitable, I would support you one-hundred percent. I love you so much, Samantha."

My face began to hurt from smiling so much, but I didn't care. It was the best hurt I have had in a while, and I relished in it. "I love you too, mom."

After that, Mr. Fuji, Mom, and I returned to having small talk at the kitchen table. The events from last night were, surprisingly, forgotten for the time, and I felt the happiest I had in years.

I figured I would enjoy this happiness for just a little bit longer. I could wait a day more to travel to the professor's lab.

I would be able to begin my journey with a warm heart, a mentor, and a supportive mother. All was well.


End file.
